Disclaimer: I only own four rolls of film worth of pictures from my trip to Japan and some airline peanuts, everythign else is owned by the Powers that Be, AKA Joss and Co., I'm just borrowing them to keep me from going MAAAAAAAD dealing with my sister.
Part III
"You can't leave me like this," Dawn said. There was no hysterical teenage angst, just a statement of fact.
"When a Slayer starts chasing after me with pointy bits of wood," Spike said, throwing clothes into a duffel bag, "It is usually prudent for me to leave town if I don't want to end up in the dustbin."
"I can't live without you."
Spike stopped in the midst of his packing, and tilted Dawn's tearstreaked face up to look him in the eye. "Nibblet, I don't like it either."
"Then stay!"
He kissed away the tears. "A few months in LA, everything will blow over with your sister, and your own little Spikey will be back in the 'Dale."
"Let's get married," Dawn blurted out.
"What?" Spike exclaimed.
"In Las Vegas, we can do the drive-through chapel at night. I-I'm pretty sure there aren't any crosses there. And everything's enclosed, there's little risk of sun. If we leave now, we can get there before sunrise."
"Oh, yeah, that'll really get your sister back on my good side. Let's see, it only took me three years after my girlfriend killed her best friend, for marrying her sister it'll probably take... oh... five hundred years!"
"You don't love me?" She asked, her chin wobbling.
"Of course I love you! It's just---"
Dawn started ticking off on her fingers. "I've got access to my trust fund, so we have enough money to keep us in something nicer than Motel 6.You've got the chip, so you couldn't hurt me no matter what. I can get you blood easy, I know all the angles now and even what kind you like. My sister's one Slayer, and the other one is my friend, so you're pretty much safe from dustage."
"And I'm only about 150 years older than you."
"No, I'm older than you, I'm the Key, remember? I'm as old as the universe."
Spike thought about it for a minute. "Hmmm, so you're the one robbing the cradle."
"Have something against older women?" Dawn teased.
"Nope, my favorite kind." Spike leered at her, then spun and started rummaging through a drawer. "Aha! Knew this might come in handy one day!"
The small black velvet box rested in the palm of his hand, opened to reveal a simple gold band surmounted by a small, tasteful, beautiful emerald flanked by accent diamonds. "Dawn," Spike said, "Will you marry me?"